Chapter 581: What Is Vegapunk's Purpose!?
What had just happened could fill an entire book.
Yet in reality, only a few minutes had passed.
"It feels like something terrible just happened!"
"The aura coming off that thing is completely different now!"
"Gaino, are you alright?"
Ryuunosuke jumped and landed on the shoulder of the gigantic Gundam formed from the Eternal Ark, smiling as if he were watching a festival instead of a catastrophe.
"No problem."
"It's nothing but a fake god. It's not even worthy of being called a god."
"Now watch me crush it completely."
Gaino's voice carried absolute confidence.
As he spoke, the turret mounted on the back of the mech slowly floated into the air.
When Gaino charged forward, it followed, keeping pace as if it were alive.
A battle on this level was beyond ordinary people.
Even watching safely required a certain level of strength just to stand in the same area without being reduced to dust.
"Captain, are you sure everything's alright?"
Kuina tightened her grip on her sword, her eyes fixed on the battlefield with unease.
"I've got a really bad feeling about that thing."
The Marines had already evacuated anyone with weaker strength.
"This is very bad," Ryuunosuke admitted.
"But Gaino is much stronger than that miserable thing."
"What worries me more is why that bastard chose to do this in the first place."
He lifted his head and stared into the distance, eyes narrowed.
What was happening here now was almost certainly part of Vegapunk's plan.
So why?
A test?
But was it not a ridiculous waste to burn this much power on testing?
Even for Vegapunk, divine essence should not be something he could casually mass produce.
So what was he really thinking?
And…
Meanwhile, on Alcatraz.
"As expected, that ship is Pluton."
"And compared to the Pluyon that appeared before, this form is an upgraded version entirely."
Vegapunk stared at the scene, his expression full of contemplation.
"Dragon Hunter Pirates… how did you manage to develop something like this?"
The screen in front of him was linked directly to Nirvasiu's eyes.
What Nirvasiu saw, Vegapunk saw as well.
Facing the Eternal Ark's fierce assault, Vegapunk began calculating its combat data at terrifying speed.
Even so, the numbers that poured in were beyond what his current computing ability could comfortably handle.
After all, Nirvasiu itself had never been part of his original expectations.
The moment Vegapunk discovered Nirvasiu's existence, he began searching for it.
Because he understood something very clearly.
This was likely the thing he had been looking for all along.
And when Carmel learned about it…
He immediately forced his way into the project.
Then came the divine gene implantation.
Now Nirvasiu was nearing completion.
Only this final test remained.
Just as Ryuunosuke had guessed, Vegapunk was doing this as a test.
As for whether the cost was too high, that was not something he even considered.
Because aside from the Dragon Hunter Pirates, there simply was no one else in the world fit to serve as test material.
Data flooded the electronic devices beside him.
Vegapunk began recording special values one by one, his eyes shining as if he were watching a masterpiece being born.
Back on the battlefield.
Boom!
The two Gundams collided again.
But with Nirvasiu's movements restricted, Gaino immediately directed the hovering cannons to fire.
An attack like that could erase an island.
Even Nirvasiu let out a pained roar as the barrage tore through it.
The next instant, it forced itself free from Gaino restraint, spun around, seized one of the floating cannons, and crushed it in its grip.
Then a weapon appeared in its hand.
A Longinus spear.
With it, Nirvasiu charged straight at Gaino.
Soon, a strange force field spread across their battle zone.
"AT Field?!"
The first thought that slammed into Ryuunosuke's mind was exactly that.
The so called A T field, short for Absolute Terror Field.
In simple terms, an absolutely inviolable sacred domain.
But why would something like that appear in a fight between the Eternal Ark and Nirvasiu?
This was clearly not normal.
"Gaino, can you still hear me?"
Ryuunosuke asked immediately.
"Yes, Captain. Is there something I should watch out for?"
Gaino's voice rang directly in his mind.
Hearing it, Ryuunosuke remembered at once.
Right. Gaino was connected to the system.
And the system resided within Ryuunosuke's mind.
Even with the A T field in place, their communication remained unaffected.
"Can you kill it quickly?"
"If not, I'll step in."
"We can't drag this out."
Ryuunosuke spoke without hesitation.
Vegapunk's exact goal was still unclear, but it was likely testing and intelligence gathering.
If that was the case, they could not keep letting the fight stretch on like this.
"I've basically figured out its attack patterns. I'll end it fast."
"If it's not finished in three minutes, Captain, then join in."
Gaino did not brag.
He simply stated the truth.
Against Nirvasiu, he was not confident he could end it instantly.
"I knew it."
"Go fight."
Ryuunosuke sat down on the ground, watching with interest.
If Vegapunk was collecting data, then Ryuunosuke's side was collecting data too.
Nirvasiu was probably the strongest Aragami Vegapunk could create right now.
Beru beru
Just then, a Den Den Mushi rang.
"Captain, we finished clearing the Aragami on our side."
"But these Aragami were… strange."
Meliodas' voice came through the receiver.
"Strange?"
"What's wrong? Did Nirvasiu show up over there too?"
Ryuunosuke asked immediately.
If the Nirvasiu here was not the only one, then things had become far more serious.
"No."
"These Aragami aren't on the same level as the ones we faced before."
"They have combat strength, sure."
"But the level is more like a Marine officer."
"Too weak."
Meliodas said it bluntly, without even trying to soften it.
Ryuunosuke could not help turning to glance at Sengoku and the others.
Sure enough, their expressions now looked like they were struggling very hard not to explode.
Calling the Marine officers too weak to their faces was… not exactly polite.
Even if it was true.
"Then what?"
"What else was strange?"
Ryuunosuke hurriedly changed the topic.
He had no interest in becoming the next target of Sengoku's rage.
"And the thing that makes these Aragami stronger…"
"After we destroyed the Aragami, it escaped."
"It's less like it escaped, and more like something took it away."
Meliodas added in a heavier tone.
"The energy escaped?"
"The origin of God?"
"Or…"
Ryuunosuke frowned.
He could roughly guess what had been happening earlier.
But now he was completely lost.
Those low level Aragami were mostly early stage or failed products from Vegapunk's research.
Were they released purely to distract and split their forces?
But Ryuunosuke might have chosen to ignore weak Aragami in the first place.
So what exactly was Vegapunk's purpose?
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